Medical equipment at the 500-bed Covid care center set up at Ramlila Maidan.
Coronavirus India LIVE Updates:
The Union Health Ministry Tuesday appreciated Covid-19 containment models of Mumbai and Pune, saying that such models need to be replicated at the national level to curb the spread of the pandemic. The way in which Pune contained the upsurge of COVID-19 cases also drew praise from the Ministry, calling it as a fine example that shows how containment measures can help restrict the spread of the disease.
Delhi's positivity rate dipped to 17.76 per cent Tuesday as the national capital recorded 12,481 fresh Covid-19 cases and 347 fatalities in the last 24 hours. As many as 13,583 people have recovered from the infection in the same period. The number of positive cases has come down as the capital entered the fourth week of lockdown on Monday.
In another development, BJP President JP Nadda has expressed his anguish over Congress President Sonia Gandhi’s criticism of Centre’s handling of covid-19 crisis in the country.
As Covid-19 continues to spread across India, the number of vaccines administered to the adult population is falling at an alarming rate. The dip in doses is particularly acute in rural areas where the curve is rising and where there are glaring gaps in medical infrastructure, data obtained by The Indian Express revealed. According to an analysis, as many as 37 surge districts across the country reported over 50 per cent drop in jabs.
India recorded 3,29,942 fresh Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours ending 8 am Tuesday. The country’s total infections stand at over 2.29 crore. Out of these, over 37.15 lakh cases are active while 1.90 crore people have recovered after testing positive. Active cases have declined for the first time in 2 months. With 3,876 new deaths, the toll is now at over 2.49 lakh.
The US is looking at joint production of Johnson and Johnson’s Covid vaccine in India and ways to help manufacturers like Serum Institute of India (SII) to boost production, Daniel B Smith, Charge d’Affaires of the US Embassy, said Tuesday. Smith also said that the efficacy of AstraZeneca’s vaccine, manufactured at a production facility in Baltimore, is not clear and the US Food and Drug Administration has not yet certified those doses.
At least 96 unidentified bodies – many of them decomposed and bloated – have been found floating in the Ganga over the past couple of days, triggering fears among local residents in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh that bodies of Covid victims were being dumped in the river. While 71 of the bodies have been fished out in Bihar’s Buxar district, at least 25 bodies were found in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh’s Ghazipur district.
With Karnataka overtaking Maharashtra to report the highest number of cases as well as deaths on Tuesday, and Bengaluru reeling under 300-plus daily deaths, the state government plans to use the 14-day lockdown that began Monday to rationalise the use of hospital beds, set in place proper triaging of patients, and create ICU beds on a war footing.
India’s Covid curve may be showing early signs of flattening, but, unlike the first wave, the decline in the number of new infections is likely to be much slower this time, according to noted virologist Dr Shahid Jameel.
“It is still too early to say whether we have reached the peak. There is some indication of the cases plateauing. But we must not forget that this is a very high plateau. We seem to be plateauing around 4 lakh cases a day. We might feel relieved, if we indeed have reached the peak, but the climb down is also not going to be swift,” said Jameel, also the director of Trivedi School of Biosciences at the Ashoka University.
A FOLDING cot that a family claims to have got itself, fans that don’t work, a roof that is leaking at several places, and a ward overpowered by the stench of a toilet. As Meerut district climbs to the top of Covid charts in Uttar Pradesh, with 1,368 new cases taking its total active number to 13,941, its largest government coronavirus facility, Lala Lajpat Rai Memorial Medical College, is struggling to keep up.
A team of doctors and nurses checks oxygen level and motivates Covid patients at the 36-bed Covid facility at Madhavnagar in Sanand, Gujarat.
West Bengal on Wednesday registered its highest single-day spike of 20,377 new COVID-19 cases, which pushed the tally to 10,53,117, the health department said in a bulletin.
The death toll rose to 12,728 as 135 more people succumbed to the disease, it said, adding that 55 of them died due to comorbidities, where COVID-19 was incidental. PTI
Concerned over the spread of Covid-19 in the rural areas, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has sought a report from Punjab and Haryana governments detailing steps being taken to combat the virus in rural belt.
The division bench of Justice Rajan Gupta and Justice Karamjit Singh directed the Punjab to file affidavit by an officer not below the rank of Principal Secretary, Health. The matter has now been adjourned for hearing for May 18.
Haryana has been asked to submit a report by an officer not below the rank of Additional Chief Secretary, Health. Read More
Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Wednesday directed all Deputy Commissioners to set up isolation centres in 50 or more villages that had turned into Covid hotspots in next two days and submit an action taken report to the office of Director General, Development and Panchayats. Read More
Assam reported 71 more deaths due to COVID-19 on Wednesday, taking the death toll to 1,909, while 5,657 new cases of infections pushed the tally to 3,10,086, the National Health Mission (NHM) said.
Currently, the state has a total of 40,970 active cases.
The NHM in its bulletin said that 3,880 people recovered from the disease during the day taking the total number of cured people to 2,65,860. PTI
The Jammu and Kashmir administration has added nearly 800 more oxygen-supported beds in the region in a week to augment the existing bed capacity amid a surge in COVID-19 cases, officials said on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, bed capacity in two major private hospitals has also gone up by 60 beds. PTI
The COVID-19 caseload in Manipur mounted to 37,036 on Wednesday as the state reported its highest single-day spike of 666 new cases, an official said.
The death toll rose to 526 as 17 more people succumbed to the disease, he said.
Imphal West district registered 252 fresh cases, followed by Imphal East (171), Kakching (60), Churachandpur (50), Bishnupur (48), Thoubal (34), Ukhrul (15) and Senapati (13). PTI
A group of 76 public intellectuals and scholars from India and abroad, including historian Romila Thapar, critic and scholar Gayatri Spivak, artist Anish Kapoor, writer Orhan Pamuk, Glenn Lowry (director, Museum of Modern Art, New York), have called for a halt and reconsideration of the government’s Central Vista redevelopment project.
In an open letter addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday, the scholars criticised the “extravagant project” in the “midst of a devastating pandemic, endangering workers, and squandering scarce resources that could be used to save lives.” Read More
The number of new Covid cases in Punjab dipped slightly on Wednesday, with the state adding 8347 fresh Covid cases in the last 24 hours as compared to Tuesday’s 8668 cases, the daily health bulletin said. At least 197 people succumbed to the virus in the past 24 hours, while 4971 recovered from it, the bulletin added.
The total number of confirmed cases in Punjab on Wednesday stood at 467,539, of which 79963 were active. Read More
Claiming that the second wave of COVID-19 has slowed down in Madhya Pradesh, state minister Dr Prabhu Ram Choudhary on Wednesday said that in view of the threat of the third wave, the government has started enhancing its basic infrastructure in the medical field.
The health and family welfare minister was speaking to reporters after reviewing the coronavirus situation in Indore district. PTI
In a relief to people from lower income groups in Gujarat, the state government allowed them to use their Mukhyamantri Amrutam (MA) cards and MA-Vatsalya cards to avail free COVID-19 treatment up to Rs 50,000 at private hospitals.
The decision to allow state government-issued MA and MA-Vatsalya cards for coronavirus treatment at private hospitals was taken by Chief Minister Vijay Rupani during a meeting with the core group of the state government, an official release said on Wednesday. PTI
The Rajasthan government will purchase vaccines from abroad to speed up the coronavirus vaccination process in the state and a global tender will be issued for the same.
Along with this, the government has also approved direct purchase of coronavirus treatment drugs and equipment from the companies.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the state council of ministers held through video conference on Wednesday under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot. PTI
In a positive development, according to the state Health department’s new projections for active caseload in Maharashtra, the number in Pune district is expected to come down to 60,715 by May 23.
In an earlier projection on May 6, the state Health department had pegged Pune’s active caseload at 1.31 lakh by May 16. According to the state data, till May 11, there were a total of 95,731 active Covid-19 cases in Pune district. The earlier projection had also estimated that Pune would face a shortage of 4,952 oxygen-supported beds and 191 ICU beds.
But the present analysis estimates no shortfall by May 23, and the city will have 41,19 oxygen-supported beds and 1992 ICU beds by then. Read More
Tripura police apprehended seven COVID-19 patients out of 25, who escaped from a Covid care centre located at Ambassa in Dhalai district, nearly 110 kilometres away from Agartala.
Twenty five Covid-19 patients escaped from a Covid care centre on Monday night. All of them visited the state for work from different states. Debraj Deb reports
The Karnataka government Wednesday announced that it would temporarily suspend anti-Covid vaccination for people aged 18 to 44 from May 14.
"This order will be applicable for COVID vaccination at all Government COVID vaccination centers in the state," a note issued by the Department of Health and Family Welfare read. This includes beneficiaries who have already obtained an appointment as well.
The Jharkhand government on Wednesday extended the lockdown-like restrictions with stricter provisions,including 7 days mandatory quarantine for people visiting the state, till May 27 amid a surge in COVID- 19 cases, officials said. PTI
Amid multiple states reporting a shortage of COVID-19 vaccine, Serum Institute and Bharat Biotech have submitted to the Centre their production plan for the next four months, informing they can ramp it up to 10 crore and 7.8 crore doses respectively by August, official sources said on Wednesday. PTI
Due to the acute shortage of COVID-19 vaccines in Maharashtra, the state government on Wednesday decided to temporarily suspend its drive to vaccinate people in the age group of 18 to 44 and divert the available stock of doses for the above-45 age group, Health Minister Rajesh Tope said. This decision was taken during the state cabinet meeting.
The minister also revealed that the Serum Institute of India (SII) has informed the Maharashtra government that it would be able to provide 1.5 crore Covishield vaccines to the state only May 20 onwards. PTI
In the wake of Justice DY Chandrachud testing positive for Covid-19, the Supreme Court has deferred Thursday's scheduled hearing in a suo moto case pertaining to Covid-19 issues. A fresh date of listing will be notified later, the apex court said.
Pointing out that the Covid-19 pandemic has assumed "unprecedented dimensions of a human catastrophe", leaders of 12 Opposition parties wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding free mass vaccination against coronavirus and suspension of the central vista project, among others.
Here's a list of suggestions that opposition parties have put forward
1. Procure vaccines centrally from all available sources - global and domestic.
2. Immediately begin a free, universal mass vaccination campaign across the country.
3. Invoke compulsory licensing to expand domestic vaccine production.
4. Spend budgetary allocation of Rs. 35,000 crores for the vaccines.
5. Stop Central Vista construction. Use the allocated money for procuring oxygen and vaccines, instead.
6. Release all money held in the unaccounted private trust fund, PMCares to buy more vaccines, Oxygen and medical equipment required.
7. Give all jobless at least Rs. 6000 per month.
8. Free distribution of foodgrains to the needy (over one crore tonnes of foodgrains are currently rotting in central godowns).
9. Repeal farm laws to protect lakhs of our annadatas becoming victims of the pandemic so that they can continue to produce food to feed the Indian people
The letter was signed by Congress interim chief Sonia Gandhi, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin, former prime minister and JDS chief Deve Gowda, Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray, Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren, JKPA chief Farooq Abdullah, SP president Akhilesh Yadav, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav and CPI's D Raja and Sitaram Yechury of CPI-M
Joining a growing chorus of states, the Tamil Nadu Government has announced that it has decided to float a global tender to import vaccines to be administered to those in the age group of 18-45. The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by Chief Minister MK Stalin at Kalaivanar Arangam in Chennai.
AAP leader Atishi on Wednesday said Delhi received 2.67 lakh more doses of Covishield vaccine on May 11, but it has completely run out of Covaxin. She said some Covaxin centres for the 18-44 age group have been temporarily shut from Wednesday.
"Around 16,000 Covaxin doses, which were available in the morning, were administered at 44 centres. These centres will also be shut after Wednesday evening," the AAP MLA said. PTI
Eminent Gandhian and freedom fighter H S Doreswamy has won the COVID-19 battle at the ripe old age of 103 and is returning home.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday said her government is ready to provide land and all the required support for manufacturing COVID-19 vaccines. In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Banerjee also called for liberal and proactive import of vaccines.
"Production of vaccines in the country is extremely inadequate... Globally, there are many manufacturers now... it is possible to identify the reputed and authentic manufacturers and speedily import vaccines from them from different parts of the world," she said. "Liberal, proactive and discerning import of vaccination is the paramount need today," the chief minister added. (PTI)
The Bombay High Court on Wednesday said if the Union government had started door-to-door vaccination programme for senior citizens a few months back, then lives of many of them, including prominent persons, could have been saved.
A division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice G S Kulkarni asked the Union government why not pro-actively start this programme when the lives of senior citizens, who are unable to go to vaccination centres to get inoculated, are concerned.
Supreme Court judge Justice DY Chandrachud has tested positive for COVID-19, Bar and Bench reports.
It is quite disheartening to listen to some states complaining about Bharat Biotech's intentions regarding supply of COVID vaccine Covaxin, a top company official said on Wednesday.
In a tweet, Bharat Biotech Joint Managing Director Suchitra Ella said the company has already dispatched Covaxin lots to 18 states on May 10.
"18 states have been covered though in smaller shipments. Quite disheartening to the teams to hear some states complaining about our intentions. 50 of our employees are off work due to covid, yet we continue to work under pandemic lockdowns 24x7 for U," she said in a tweet.
Earlier in the day, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said Bharat Biotech has informed the state government that it cannot provide "additional" Covaxin doses to the national capital. (PTI)
The national capital reported 13,287 new coronavirus cases and 300 more fatalities on Wednesday, while the positivity rate came down to 17 per cent, the lowest in nearly a month, according to the health department. The 13,287 new cases came from 78,035 tests, including 63315 RTPCR/CBNAAT/True Nat tests, conducted on Tuesday. As many as 14,071 people recovered from the infection during the period, the health bulletin said.
Taking umbrage against the B.1.617 mutant of the novel coronavirus being termed an "Indian Variant", the Union Health Ministry on Wednesday said the WHO has not used the word "Indian" for this strain in its document.
The ministry dismissed as "without any basis and unfounded" media reports that have used the term "Indian variant" for the B.1.617 mutant strain, which the WHO recently said was a "variant of global concern".
"Several media reports have covered the news of World Health Organisation (WHO) classifying B.1.617 as variant of global concern. Some of these reports have termed the B.1.617 variant of the coronavirus as an 'Indian Variant'," the ministry said in a statement. "These media reports are without any basis, and unfounded," it said. (PTI)
The Nepal government has extended suspension on operation of international flights till May 31 as coronavirus cases continue to rise at an alarming rate in the Himalayan nation.
The deadly virus has so far infected 413,111 people and claimed 4,084 lives in the country, which has a population of approximately 29.5 million. The suspension period of international schedule flights has been extended till May 31, the Civil Aviation Authority said in a notification on Tuesday. (PTI)
India's total COVID-19 active cases dipped to 37,04,099 with a net decline of 11,122 cases in a span of 24 hours, the Union Health Ministry said on Wednesday. This is the second consecutive day that active cases have dipped, the ministry said. The active caseload now comprises 15.87 per cent of the country's total infections,
Karnataka, Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Haryana, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh cumulatively account for 82.51 per cent of India's total active cases, the ministry said. India's cumulative recoveries have surged to 1,93,82,642 with 3,55,338 people recuperating in a span of 24 hours.
At least 25 COVID patients escaped from a temporary care centre at Ambassa in Tripura, following which a massive search operation was launched by the police and only seven of them could be apprehended from a railway station, an official said on Wednesday.
All the patients, who fled the COVID care centre at Panchayat Raj Training Institute (PRTI) on Monday night, are migrant workers who came from other states, sad Himadri Sarkar, the officer-in-charge of the Ambassa police station. "We have informed all the police stations about the incident and alerted the railway authorities since they came here from other states. We have initiated a search operation to trace them," he said. (PTI)
A Delhi court has granted bail to a 24-year-old man, accused of being part of a Remdesivir injection racket, taking note of the fact that he has Bronchial asthma.
Additional Sessions Judge Kiran Gupta granted bail to Harshit Bansal, who is accused by the police of supplying two Remdesivir injections to an elderly woman after reading about it on social media.
“Considering the fact that the applicant is of very young age; is a student; has no previous involvement…is a known case of Bronchial asthma and the current pandemic situation, he is released on bail subject to furnishing personal bond/statutory bond of Rs 50,000…,” the court said. The accused has been in judicial custody from April 27.
Madhya Pradesh Culture Minister, Usha Thakur is back in the limelight with yet another controversial statement.
This time, she has exhorted all the need to perform a yagya, terming it as an “ancient practice since time immemorial to purify our environment for keeping the third Covid wave at bay”.
Earlier on April 11, Thakur without wearing a mask performed puja before the Devi Ahilyabai Holkar idol at the Indore airport, sitting along with airport authority officials to ward off the pandemic.
India made the “incorrect assumption” that it was finished with the Covid-19 pandemic and opened up prematurely that has left the country in such “dire straits”, America’s top infectious disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci has told senators.
India has been severely affected by the unprecedented second wave of the coronavirus and hospitals in several states are reeling under the shortage of health workers, vaccines, oxygen, drugs and beds.
“The reason that India is in such dire straits now is that they had an original surge and made the incorrect assumption that they were finished with it, and what happened, they opened up prematurely and wind up having a surge right now that we’re all very well aware of is extremely devastating,” Fauci told the US Senate Health, Education, Labour and Pensions Committee during a hearing on Tuesday on the Covid-19 Response.
Attacking the Centre, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday said the BJP-led government celebrated 'Tika Utsav' in April but allegedly did not make arrangements to provide vaccines against COVID-19 which led to a decline in vaccinations.
The government had marked 'Tika Utsav', a vaccination drive between April 11 and 14, with an aim to inoculate the maximum number of eligible people against coronavirus amid a surge in cases.
"India is the largest vaccine-producing country. The BJP government marked 'Tika Utsav' on April 12, but did not make arrangements for providing vaccines and in 30 days there was an 82 per cent decline in our vaccinations," Gandhi alleged, sharing graphics comparing the number of vaccinations on April 12 and May 9.
She also shared a graph showing that India was behind countries like the US, the UK, Turkey and France in terms of vaccinating citizens. "Modi ji went to vaccine factories, also got photographs clicked, but why did his government placed its first order for vaccine doses only in January 2021?" the Congress general secretary said. "The United States and other countries placed orders with Indian vaccine companies long ago. Who will take responsibility for this?" she said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised nursing staff on the International Nurses Day on Wednesday, saying their sense of duty, compassion and commitment towards a healthy India is exemplary.
International Nurses Day is observed to mark the birth anniversary of founder of modern nursing Florence Nightingale.
In a tweet, Modi said, "International Nurses Day is a day to express gratitude to the hardworking nursing staff, who is at the forefront of fighting COVID-19. Their sense of duty, compassion and commitment towards a healthy India is exemplary."
Covaxin's maker Bharat Biotech has refused to supply vaccine doses to Delhi, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said on Wednesday, hitting out at what he called the Centre's "vaccine mismanagement". "Once again I would say exporting 6.6cr doses was the biggest mistake. We are forced to shutdown 100 covaxin-vaccination sites in 17 schools due to no supply," he wrote on Twitter. Sisodia further said that the letter by Covaxin manufacturers clarifies that the central govt decides which state will get how many doses and also urged the Centre to stop the export of vaccines.
A caregiver is one who should stay home and monitor the health of Covid patients. The Indian Express finds out how to be a caregiver of a Covid patient without infecting yourself.
He/she can be anyone who is fit and can take care of a patient in home isolation 24×7 following due precautions. The person can be a family member or even a volunteer in case a family member is not available. Caregivers can take care of mild/asymptomatic patients and has to be a regular communication link with the hospital or the treating doctor. Read more
Novavax, one of the first players in the race to vaccinate the world against COVID, delivered disheartening news Monday, saying that its highly protective vaccine would not be authorized in the United States or Britain until at least July, and that it would not reach peak production until the end of the year.
The delays, announced during an earnings call with investors, are the latest setback for the little-known Maryland company, which was granted up to $1.6 billion from the U.S. federal government last year and whose product has shown robust results in clinical trials. Despite these wins, the company has struggled to demonstrate that it can deliver on its promise to supply the world with 2 billion doses this year. Novavax has never brought a vaccine to market in its 34-year history. Read More
“Earlier, the speeches were only about the three farm laws, but now various speakers, including the head of Bharti Kisan Union (Ugrahan) Joginder Singh Ugrahan, have been talking about the spread of the Covid and asking us to take proper precautions including wearing masks, maintaining distance, and hand sanitisation,” said a woman participant, Baljit Kaur, at Tikri border. Read more
With Karnataka overtaking Maharashtra to report the highest number of cases as well as deaths on Tuesday, and Bengaluru reeling under 300-plus daily deaths, the state government plans to use the 14-day lockdown that began Monday to rationalise the use of hospital beds, set in place proper triaging of patients, and create ICU beds on a war footing.
Since the beginning of this month, Bengaluru has seen 2,153 deaths, compared to 1,907 in April. In the first wave, it had seen 971 deaths in the worst month of September 2020. The city has been reporting 20,000-plus cases daily.
At least 96 unidentified bodies – many of them decomposed and bloated – have been found floating in the Ganga over the past couple of days, triggering fears among local residents in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh that bodies of Covid victims were being dumped in the river. While 71 of the bodies have been fished out in Bihar’s Buxar district, at least 25 bodies were found in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh’s Ghazipur district.
While authorities in both districts are yet to confirm if the bodies were of Covid victims, saying samples have been sent for tests, police in Buxar said they suspected the bodies may have floated in from Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh.
The US is looking at joint production of Johnson and Johnson’s Covid vaccine in India and ways to help manufacturers like Serum Institute of India (SII) to boost production, Daniel B Smith, Charge d’Affaires of the US Embassy, said Tuesday.
Smith also said that the efficacy of AstraZeneca’s vaccine, manufactured at a production facility in Baltimore, is not clear and the US Food and Drug Administration has not yet certified those doses.
Last month, the White House said the US plans to share 60 million doses of AstraZeneca’s vaccine globally as soon as they become available, and India had expected a significant chunk of the stockpile. Read more
On a day that Goa reported 75 Covid deaths, its highest single-day coronavirus fatalities, the Health Minister and Chief Minister of the BJP government appeared to differ over the cause of death of 26 patients overnight at the state’s largest Covid facility and whether it was due to shortage of oxygen.
Health Minister Vishwajit Rane called for a High Court probe into the deaths at Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), between 2 am and 6 am on the night of Monday-Tuesday, saying these could be due to oxygen shortage, and that CM Pramod Sawant might be “misguided”. Read more
India’s Covid curve may be showing early signs of flattening, but, unlike the first wave, the decline in the number of new infections is likely to be much slower this time, according to noted virologist Dr Shahid Jameel.
“It is still too early to say whether we have reached the peak. There is some indication of the cases plateauing. But we must not forget that this is a very high plateau. We seem to be plateauing around 4 lakh cases a day. We might feel relieved, if we indeed have reached the peak, but the climb down is also not going to be swift,” said Jameel, also the director of Trivedi School of Biosciences at the Ashoka University. Read More
A FOLDING cot that a family claims to have got itself, fans that don’t work, a roof that is leaking at several places, and a ward overpowered by the stench of a toilet. As Meerut district climbs to the top of Covid charts in Uttar Pradesh, with 1,368 new cases taking its total active number to 13,941, its largest government coronavirus facility, Lala Lajpat Rai Memorial Medical College, is struggling to keep up.
Vashisht Sharma, a Delhi University student, says the cot on which his father is lying, in a corridor between two rooms in the Emergency Ward, was brought by them. “We were lucky we got our own bed. Things are so bad here, patients are lying on bed-sheets on the hospital floor.” His father has been admitted since April 28, with no improvement in his condition. “Even though he has Covid, it appears he has some non-coronavirus chest problems as well. Since there are so many people, the doctors can’t give enough attention,” Sharma says.
Makeshift beds have been fitted into corners of the Emergency area, or placed between regular beds. Relatives sit alongside, keeping a watch, with the hospital unable to enforce Covid guidelines as it doesn’t have enough attendants of own. With limited ventilation, a 34-year-old is using her X-ray film to fan herself. Large buckets are placed under leaking overhead pipes at three places. Read More
The Delhi High Court Tuesday asked the Delhi government to come up with a policy on allowing attendants, who could be family members and are willing to look after COVID-19 patients inside the hospitals and said that the patients cannot be left unattended.
“The problem is you are short on medical and paramedical staff and you don’t allow the attendants so that he or she may not get affected. You can’t leave the patient unattended,” the division bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Rekha Palli told the government.
Active cases declined for the second straight day, for the first time since March 9. Maharashtra reported about 41,000 cases, much lower than its average in the last few weeks. Karnataka, Kerala continues to report around 40,000 cases each. Of the 4,205 deaths reported on Tuesday, the highest ever, Maharashtra reported more than 800 deaths. Six states – Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, apart from Maharashtra – reporting more than 200 deaths a day.
India reported 3,48,421 new Covid-19 cases and 4,205 deaths in the last 24 hours ending 8 am on Wednesday, as per the Union Health Ministry. Also, as many as 3,55,338 people were discharged during the same period. The total number of coronavirus cases in the country has reached 2,33,40,938, out of which, 37,04,099 are active cases, 2,54,197 people have lost their lives while 1,93,82,642 have recovered.
THE DEEPENING of fear in the countryside with the rapid spread of Covid-19 in rural areas is likely to further delay the recovery of the services sectors. Some economists hence worry that the impact of the unfolding second wave, with stringent lockdowns in several states, will likely be higher than the last time around.
The fear is expected to impact the rural economy in two distinct ways: i) Supply chain disruptions at the primary mandi level may dampen the multiplier impact of a good harvest this year following forecast of a normal monsoon, raising the spectre of high food inflation ii) The rural job guarantee programme (MGNREGA) which was a significant and effective intervention last year in delivering income support in the rural areas, could be under question this year. This dims the prospects of firm demand in rural consumption.
THE TOP FIVE states on the Covid chart, which account for 54 per cent of the total active cases in the country, get only 42 per cent of Liquid Medical Oxygen (LMO) allocated by the Centre to 33 states and Union Territories, according to the latest government data.
The data, which is based on an allocation order dated May 8, also shows that the combined allocation by the Centre to the states and UTs has crossed the 10,000 metric tonnes per day (MT/day) mark. The number of states and UTs seeking oxygen from the Centre has also gone up, virtually covering the entire country, it shows.
The Allahabad High Court has observed that “the Election Commission, the Higher Courts and the Government failed to fathom the disastrous consequences of permitting the elections in few States and the Panchayat elections in the State of Uttar Pradesh”.
While the Covid-19 infection “had not reached the village population in its first wave…last year, [it] has now spread to the villages”, the court said.
According to the court, the state government “is having tough time in controlling the spread of novel coronavirus in urban areas”, and it would be very difficult to carry out tests, detect infections, and treat the population in the villages.
As many as 533 of the country’s 700-plus districts are now reporting a test positivity rate of more than 10 per cent, the government said on Tuesday, underlining the massive spread of the coronavirus infection in rural India in the second wave.
A total 13 states have more than 1 lakh active cases; six states have 50,000 to 1 lakh active cases; and 17 states have fewer than 50,000 active cases, the Centre said. The total active case count across the country is now more than 37 lakh.
“Since the second wave is raging”, it is time to dilute the Health Ministry’s earlier recommendation that no more than 30 per cent of all Covid-19 tests should be Rapid Antigen Tests (RAT), Dr Balram Bhargava, director general of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not visit the United Kingdom for the G-7 summit in June owing to the prevailing Covid-19 situation, informed the Ministry of External Affairs on Tuesday.
“While appreciating invitation by UK PM Boris Johnson to attend the G7 Summit as a Special Invitee, given the prevailing COVID situation, Prime Minister will not attend the G7 Summit in person,” the ministry said.
The Union Health Ministry Tuesday appreciated Covid-19 containment models of Mumbai and Pune, saying that such models need to be replicated at the national level to curb the spread of the pandemic.
The way in which Pune contained the upsurge of COVID-19 cases also drew praise from the Ministry, as a fine example that shows how containment measures can help restrict the spread of the disease.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Tuesday urged the Centre to increase the liquid medical oxygen (LMO) allocation to the state to 910 tonnes to meet the current patient load.
In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Chief Minister said the LMO allocation to the state as of April 24 was 480 tonnes, which was revised to 590 tonnes on May 8.
"The revised allocation is not at all commensurate with the increasing active (Covid-19) cases. On May 10, oxygen supplies from Chennai and Karnataka were delayed and led to the unfortunate incident wherein 11 persons died due to lack of oxygen in Tirupati," the Chief Minister pointed out. (PTI)